The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is partnering with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to strengthen preventive controls, improve accountability and protect public investments across Nigeria’s health sector.
Assistant Director, Information and Public Relations of the Ministry, Ado Bako disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Pate said a Joint Task Force comprising of the two institutions was inaugurated. Speaking at the inauguration, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, said the initiative was designed to identify institutional vulnerabilities, close loopholes and prevent the diversion or misuse of resources before they undermine health service delivery.
He stated that every naira invested in the health system carries an obligation to reach health facilities, health workers and Nigerians who depend on public healthcare services.
“When those resources are diverted, the cost is not abstract. It is a medicine that never arrives, equipment that is unavailable when needed, or a service that falls short. In this sector, corruption can cost lives,” he said.
The Pate declared that the Ministry would not tolerate corruption, stressing that effective governance must go beyond reacting to wrongdoing after it occurs to proactively identifying and addressing vulnerabilities within the system.
He described the Joint Task Team as “an instrument for institutional change”, rather than another committee, noting that its mandate would centre on prevention, institutional strengthening and improved oversight.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, to building a health system that Nigerians can trust, where resources are used for their intended purposes and institutions operate with integrity.
Prof. Pate highlighted measures already being implemented by the Federal Government to strengthen accountability in health financing, including under BHCPF 2.0, where 774 Performance and Financial Management Officers have been deployed, one to each Local Government Area, to independently verify the receipt and utilisation of funds.
He added that the Ministry was also using verified National Identification Numbers to authenticate beneficiaries and reduce duplication, while strengthening standards for fund utilisation, applying consequences for violations and digitalising processes to enable greater transparency and traceability from allocation to utilisation.
According to him, the same accountability standards must apply across all areas of the health sector, including financing, procurement, infrastructure, medicines and service delivery.
The Minister further underscored the importance of the ICPC’s preventive and oversight mandate, particularly its system-study function, state offices and Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units across government, which he said would complement the Ministry’s efforts to identify institutional weaknesses before they translate into failures.
Prof. Pate said the partnership aligns with Pillar One of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, which focuses on effective governance, regulation, standards and accountability, emphasizing that the initiative was not simply about increasing expenditure, but ensuring that every investment produces measurable value for Nigerians.
“Investment without integrity cannot deliver sustainable results,” he said.
He charged members of the Joint Task Team to discharge their responsibilities with professionalism, independence, courage and diligence, while ensuring that their recommendations produce sustainable institutional reforms beyond the lifespan of the Team.
In his remarks, the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Aliyu, represented by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Clifford Oparaodu, said the establishment of the Joint Task Team gives practical expression to the Memorandum of Understanding between ICPC and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and also represents a shared commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability and integrity in Nigeria’s health sector.
He added that the MoU provides a practical framework for collaboration and preventive oversight in the management of health-sector resources, particularly the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, stressing that funds allocated for primary healthcare must reach the facilities and people for whom they are intended and must be utilized transparently, efficiently and in accordance with due process.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom, identified effective stewardship of health resources as fundamental to achieving better health outcomes for Nigerians.
She stated that the mandate of the Ministry is to save lives, reduce the physical and financial pain of ill-health, and produce health for all Nigerians, reiterating that every resource entrusted to the health sector must therefore be protected and directed towards that purpose.
